Acapella
by wendigo3
Summary: Piper gets attatcked by a demon and must face the fact that her fear may kill her. Please read...different from "From fear to Eternity" episode.


Acapella  
By: avalanch  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any characters except the demon who is of my own creation...Charmed Belongs to the WB and Aaron Spelling and I hope that you won't sue me because I'd start to dislike Charmed then!  
Thanks!!!  
  
Piper Halliwell put the straws in the box below the counter, and then looked up.  
She still was amazed that she had a club that she could call her own, even if her sisters owned it with her. And the name, P3, was more personal than anyone would ever realize. Except for maybe them...Leo, and of course their friend Morris.  
Still, sometimes being a witch scared her.  
"Somtimes!", she laughed to herself.  
She walked towards the alcove and tied the curtains up.  
Taking one last look, she began to leave, when suddenly, a demon appeared directly in front of her.  
"WOAH!", she said, scared half to death.  
The demon kicked her in the stomach, pushing her back near the alcove.  
"Who are you?", she demanded, as he put up a shield, preventing her from exiting the alcove to freeze the demon.  
"I know all about your power witch, it only works inside the room your in, and unfortunetly that little alcove is seculded."  
Piper was obviously scared, trying everything, throwing pillows at the demon, but nothing would pass through the forcefield.  
"You're powerless against me as long as I don't step inside your area...you see my power is unfortunetly limited, it won't prevent a witch's power from being used on me...just holding a witch back...and now I will kill you from six feet away.", the demon laughed.  
"You won't get away with this.", Piper demanded.  
The demon just laughed, as his eyes changed into a solid green color.  
Piper began to feel pain all over her body, even as she fell to the floor, gasping for breath.  
With the sudden rush of emotions, the fear for her life, and the thought of dieing, somthing strange happened.  
The demon began to move in slow motion.  
The entire room was in slow motion except for Piper.  
The demon's power was cut off, because it too was slowed down, easing the effect a little.  
Piper stood up, still gasping for breath, but getting some air.  
She took a pillow and ran straight into the forcefield, pushing her through.  
Somehow the pillow blocked the effect, that or the slow motion caused his power to fault out.  
Piper, fearful for her life, instantly ran out of the club, locking the door with a padlock.  
She ran again, but suddenly the demon appeared behind her, his power was full again.  
Piper fell to the pavement as she began to loose conciousness.  
"HEY!"  
Piper had no idea who it was, all she knew was that the pain stopped, and she began to go to sleep.  
She didn't even know if the voice was male or female...someone familiar, or a stranger.  
  
Suddenly, she sat up.  
She looked around, realizing that she was in her room.  
She quickly got out of her bed and grabbed the baseball bat beside her.  
She was scared...and what was worse the feeling wouldn't leave her.  
She carefully walked down the stairs, looking in every direction.  
She turned the corner, and screamed.  
Prue raised her hand and the bat flew out of Piper's hands before she hit her over the head with it.  
"OH my god Piper!"  
"Prue...I'm so sorry, are you o-okay?"  
"Yes...thanks to my power!"  
"I'm sorry.", Piper said, beginning to cry.  
"Piper, what happened...what did that damn thing do to you?"  
  
"Piper!"  
Prue escorted Piper to a chair, as she looked at Morris.  
"You were the voice."  
"Yes...I was driving by and I saw you running, so I stopped the car, its a good thing I was driving by."  
"Or I would have been dead."  
"What was that thing?"  
"A demon...but we don't know who, Piper, what do you remember about him?"  
Piper tried to think back.  
"It uh...he had green eyes, he could project a shield that would keep physical objects away, but our powers could activate it...he backed me into the alcove and he knew about my power, he knew not to go in there and kill me so he did it from the outside."  
"Then how did you escape?", Phoebe asked.  
"When he was using his power on me...somthing weird happened, everything turned into slow motion, except me...and I was able to walk through the shield, thats how I escaped outside."  
"Why didn't I have a preminiton!", Phoebe demanded, "if my power is supposted to warn me of danger why didn't it warn me of this!"  
"Who knows...it could be one of tons of reasons...uh, Phoebe, why don't you make Piper some tea...Morris and I'll go through the Book of Shadows."  
Morris followed Prue to the attic while Phoebe took the tea kettle from the cabinent above the TV.  
She filled it with water and sat it on the stove.  
Then she walked over to Piper.  
"It helps to turn the stove on."  
"Oh!" Phoebe said.  
She walked over and turned the kettle on, and then she sat beside Piper.  
"I'm so sorry I didn't see it and wasn't able to help you...please forgive me!"  
"There's nothing to forgive Phoebe, it wasn't your fault."  
The sisters hugged, both of them scared for the other.  
  
Prue and Morris came back down with the book.  
"We found the demon.", Prue said, looking at Piper.  
Suddenly, the teakettle exploaded in a loud whistle.  
Piper fell to the floor in fear, wimpering.  
The entire room once again turned into slow motion, the wistle and Morris, while Prue, Piper, and Phoebe were still in "normal time."  
Prue and Phoebe went to the Sister, sharing a look of concern as the helped her back into the chair.  
Prue used her power to move the tea kettle off the stove and turn the stove off.  
"It's allright honey."  
Suddenly, the room returned to normal.  
"How did you go so fast!"  
"What?"  
"I saw you...you all went really really fast, the tea kettle was fast too!"  
Morris saw Piper and quit talking.  
"What did you find out about the demon."  
"He's a sixth level armist, he works directly under the triad and uses his powers to steal the power of a witch for the triad, the demon doesn't get the powers...he also puts a tremendous fear onto the victems that they get so scared that their bodies stop functioning, which can lead to their death, which is also how the demon wins...their green eyes steal the power and lock it into a vortex sent directly to the source to create a new demon with the witches powers."  
"Oh my god."  
"We also found out about Piper's new power...its evolved into freezing and its called temporal adjustment, meaning that she can slow time down...it should eventually evolve into speeding it up but that could take years...uh it's triggered by high doses of fear...thats why the room slowed down on both cases."  
"Wonderful...I'm either going to die by the demon's hands or by my fear...and on top of all that I could tell everyone who and what I am by being scared and slowing time, making me appear to go at super speed!", Piper said.  
  
"What about a vanqiushing spell for this thing?", Phoebe asked.  
Morris was in the kitchen with Piper, making her the tea.  
"Apparently the only way for the demon to be vanquished is by its victem to face their fear which will destroy the demon...meaning that Piper has to confront the demon without fear and he'll die instantly."  
"But we could get caught in the same effect."  
"No...the demon can only have one victem at a time..."  
"Still, Piper worries me a lot, she's showing signs of a total breakdown, if I wans't her sister and knew about the demons and witchcraft I'd put her in a sanitariam and lock away the key, she can't leave the house or talk to anyone....and somone will have to be here to watch her."  
"Leo?"  
"It would depend if he can...besides, I really don't want to call him or anything."  
Suddenly, Leo orbed in.  
"You don't have to call me, they already did, and they told me everything, where is she?"  
"In the kitchen with Morris."  
"Do you think you could stay with her and watch her why we try and see if we can track this demon down."  
"Sure...but only she can vanquish it, you can use your powers on it but you can't destroy him, only Piper can do that now."  
They all three exchanged a look of mortal fear as they realized that they might not be able to do anything.  
  
"PRUE!"  
Morris yelled to them and they all ran into the Kitchen.  
"What's going on?"  
"The demon had Piper to the ground, unconcious, while the Demon was about to kill her.  
Prue puhed the demon into the wall, and then outside, while Phoebe hit him a couple of times.  
"How dare you hurt our sister liket his."  
Leo and Morris ran to Prue and began looking at her.  
"She's ok...just unconcious."  
"Can you wake her up?"  
"No...it could cause her brain damage."  
"What?"  
"Its like mortal doctors, if they take an artery out of the heart blood could spill everywhere and kill them, if I bring her out of this state she could suffer brain damage, she has to come out on her own."  
The demon, fell down in pain, and dissapeared in a green smog.  
Phoebe closed the doors and the windows.  
  
"Allright, what if I cast a spell that will erase my fear."  
"Piper, it won't work...besides, if you did that your power of slowign tiem will be useless, and right now thats all that you have to keep this demon from killing you, especially if he puts you into a secluded area again where your freezing power won't work."  
Piper sighed.  
"Then I have to confront the demon without fear...how do I do that?"  
"Know that we'll be there to protect you."  
"All of us.", Morris said.  
"No, Morris you can't go!"  
"I'm going anyway Prue...I care about Piper just like all of you and I'm going to be there to help, so what if I don't have a bullet that can kill a demon, I'm still going to be there and if I die its my choice because I know the risks."  
Piper changed clothes and took a shower...after slowing down the water twice because she thought that she saw the demon.  
Then, they used scrying and found where the demon was.  
He was at Phoebe's college...hiding in the library.  
"The library's closed Prue, its breaking and entering."  
"Morris, you're a cop, can't you get us in?"  
"Yeah, with a warrent, and I'm sorry but I don't exaclty think a judge will give me a warrent because a friend of mine is being huntd down by a demon and she has to vanquish him!"  
"Allright!"  
Phoebe had an idea.  
"Cole!"  
"Phoebe...you can't bring Cole into this....Cole is Belthazar."  
"But he can get a warrant..."  
"We dont' have time Phoebe.", Leo said.  
Prue unlocked the door and they all walked in.  
Leo disabled the security system and they made their way to the top level.  
They found the demon there reading a book.  
"Well well!", he said, putting a shield up, as he ran into a small alcove.  
Prue used her power and pulled the demon into the room, and Piper froze him.  
"Remember, we will protect you Piper, don't be afraid..."  
"The power of one!...", echoed a voice.  
"Grams...she wants us to connect."  
"But Piper is the only one who can kill the demon."  
"No...if you connect you will become Piper...join hands, everyone!"  
Everyone joined hands, and the demon began to melt slowly.  
"It isn't working."  
"Wait...I shoudln't be here."  
"What?"  
"Mortal isn't supposted to witness a demon being vanquished...especially one so close to the source...I have to leave."  
Morris ran out of the room, and the demon blew up in flames.  
When they broke hand contect however, the demon returned.  
"Why didn't it work?"  
Suddenly, Piper fell to the ground, she felt like she had a knife through her throat.  
Prue lifted up her hands and tried to throw the demon but instead he knocked over a bookshelf, that fell on her.  
Another bookshelf fell on Phoebe and Leo.  
Piper looked at the demon and closed her eyes.  
I can't be afraid....but I am...grams...help me!, she thought to herself.  
"Trust in yourself Piper...you have the strength to do this!"  
Piper knew that she had to reach inside of her self to find the strength.  
Suddenly, Morris ran back in and started shotting the demon.  
Sudenly, Piper stood up.  
The demon blew up, this time...for good.  
"Piper, help me move these things."  
Morris and Piper lifted all the bookshelves off, and sat them up strait.  
"How did you do it?", Phoebe asked.  
"When Morris ran in I was reminded that even though he knew he could be killed he still risked his life to save me and that I didn't have to be afraid, because I had all of you here...it worked."  
"And the fear?"  
"Its gone..well, as much of it was from the demon any way, but I can still slow things down...I accidently slowed Morris' bullets down...thats why they're about to crash into the wall.  
Prue stoppd them and made them fall, then, she made all the books fly up to the shelf, the way they were before.  
The bullets flew into Morris' hand, and they all left.  
Suddenly, they heard sirens.  
"Someone give me a mask.", Piper said.  
They put a mask on Piper of an egyptian god and she walked outside with her hands up.  
Then, she froze them.  
Piper threw the mask to Prue and Prue put it back, while Leo reactivated the security system.   
Prue then locked the door, and they all left to celebrate, that they were all one without the music.  
They were the Charmed Ones and their friends, connected like nothing before.  
  
The end...what did you think?  



End file.
